Trump in Despair as Canada Doesn’t Blink and Rocks the Midwest With Counter Tariffs Today

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1:00Michael Popok:Who among you woke up this morning thinking, well, maybe the Canadians will blink. Maybe Donald Trump's trolling, trying to make him the 51st state, trying to embarrass their women and their military, trying to knock the Canadian patriotism and heritage. Maybe that'll work. No, it doesn't work. And it didn't work. We wake up this morning to all of the Canadian counter tariffs, tens of billions of dollars that'll hit us where we live. and the Midwest, like Michigan and Ohio and Indiana and Kentucky and the rest, right in the you-know-what, right before the election. Where do you think all those billions of dollars in trade happens?

1:38Michael Popok:It happens in the Rust Belt. It happens in the Midwest. They didn't want this. This isn't a trade war that they wanted, but it's a trade war that their president, Donald Trump gave them. Think about that next time you vote for a president at the midterms and give Donald Trump the bragging rights to all the battleground states, especially when your states depend on Canada and its economy. Who voted for that, by the way? If you voted to pick a fight with Canada and to try to have them retaliate by turning off the lights of our economy, put that in comments. I don't think anybody voted for that. Now, where are we as we awake from our Labor Day slumber on Tuesday?

2:21Michael Popok:We've got the Canadian counter tariffs. So what does Donald Trump say? Donald Trump says, we're going to go after industry that's important to Canada. I'm going to give you an example of how stupid and economically perverse Donald Trump's policies are. Let's just take his latest attack on Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer. OK, some of you may have seen a Bombardier or you know of a Bombardier. It's a very nice aircraft. Donald Trump says it's not good enough. It's not good enough for Americans. And he's going to start trying to do something to get rid of it. OK, Bombardier, which he says is not good enough for America.

3:00Michael Popok:Did you know that more than 50 percent of its manufacturing costs are paid to U.S. suppliers and manufacturers? More than 50 percent of its manufacturing costs are for items that are built right here in the good United States of America. So when you attack Bombardier, you're attacking 2 ,800 suppliers, 2 ,800 suppliers in 47 states who make up the Bombardier supply chain. You know where its wings come from on a Bombardier plane? Texas. You know where its avionics come from? Iowa. You know where its motors come from? Where else? Indiana. What do those have in common? They all voted for Donald Trump.

3:46Michael Popok:Now, 20, give you an example,$23 billion worth of Michigan products are exported to Canada. It's number one trading partner. And it needs the stuff it gets from Canada, including things related to the power grid, like electric and fuel and rare earth minerals and steel and ore and other things. So$43 billion in Michigan alone is bought from Canada. $23 billion is sold to Canada. And that's just goods, not even services. And that's just Michigan, where there's a very, I don't know if you've heard, there's a very close race there for the House. Or Ohio, where there's a very close race there for the Senate.

4:32Michael Popok:I'm not sure it's close at all. So when Donald Trump says the following about Canada products, let me pull it up here for you. No more selling Bombardier in the United States, he posted on Labor Day. They're one of the 47 crazy posts that he posted. Their products aren't good enough. Over 50 % of their revenue comes from the United States. They live off American buyers and American companies, American airports and American service, all while Canada blocks our great American banks and companies. Throughout the USA, I don't know what he's talking about. Now he's just completely unhinged. We dominate banking, financial services, computers, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, anything that is a service, not a goods.

5:19Michael Popok:We dominate the Canadian market. We sell more services to them, including banks, than they sell to us. It's on goods where there is a slight delta between what we buy and what they buy. When you put goods and services together in a balance of trade, it's almost equal. But the fact that he's going after Bombardier, and I just told you, Bombardier, just to get the numbers exactly right, has 2 ,800 U.S.-based suppliers in 47 states. More than half of the cost of the global 7 ,500 jets are tied to U.S. manufacturing. Sounds like, I don't know, it sounds like you're trying to kick your neighbor and you end up kicking yourself in the balls instead.

6:05Michael Popok:That's what it sounds like. So let me give you, while you're here on Legal AF to kick off Tuesday, and thank you so much for the fervent support and viewership over the long Labor Day weekend. Not only did we increase our subscribers by 10 ,000 during that period, we also had one of the highest viewership periods ever with our videos averaging more than 200 ,000 views per video. And we do about 10 videos a day. We're upwards of 2 million viewers in a one-day period. That's all a testament to your generosity of time and spirit and commitment. If you want to show your support, the other way is hit the subscribe button.

6:44Michael Popok:Hit that subscribe button. Help us continue to grow. Now, let me show you a clip. I mean, Mark Carney is even up against it. You know, like Trump always says, oh, I got a very aggressive press corps always going after me, a bunch of liars, people I don't like, the enemies of the people. Yeah. Well, here's Mark Carney being asked the question in which a reporter in Canada actually says you're a liar and gets away with it and doesn't get her press credentials removed as Doug Ford cuts in on her to protect, as he should, his prime minister. Play the clip. After accounting for the debt of the bridge.

7:22But that's not what the text of the New Deal says. So was that a lie? And were you downplaying your concessions to Trump? Thank you for the question. First, let's be clear about what the deal is and isn't with respect to the bridge. And the first thing is, this is a good deal. This is a good deal for Canadian businesses, workers. It's a good deal for the future of our commerce with them. Put in context, there is about$300 billion a year of trade on the land link between Michigan and Ontario. And Premier Ford knows every dime of that trade. He's got it tracked. So$300 billion, a huge amount of trade.

8:12So this creates an important link. And it's an absolute, you know, it's an engineering marvel, and it's a testament to the workers who created it. So that's. Secondly, the underlying agreement between Canada and Michigan remains in place. That's the underlying full text, weighty agreement. I'm illustrating the, you know, the thickness of that agreement. It's in the public domain. Under that agreement, there is no splitting of tolls under that agreement.

8:41Michael Popok:See how calmly and coolly and collectively he responds? If I just contrast for you, the two leaders here on their Labor Day messages, because we have similar Labor Days. Here's the Labor Day message that Donald Trump posted. One of, I don't know, 47 crazy posts that either he or Natalie Harp, his office wife, posted. Just to compare and contrast. Here is Trump. This is the president of the United States. I know you're going to think I'm talking about a seventh grader, but this is the president of the United States on his official social media account. Happy Labor Day to all, including the radical left lunatics, communists, and Democrats who will do anything possible to destroy our country.

9:28Michael Popok:These deranged people after fighting for 10 years should finally acknowledge that your favorite person, me, knows how to win, they should be exhausted by now. But sadly, they're not. They're going to give one last shot at ruining America, but we're not going to let them. We're going to win the midterms big and save America. President Donald J. Trump. That was Trump on Labor Day. You want to hear Mark Carney on Labor Day? OK. Today is Labor Day. For many Canadians, that means a well-earned day off. For all of us, it's a chance to celebrate the proud history of organized labour in Canada. Labour unions have made our economy stronger and our country fairer.

10:07They fought for better pay, safer job sites, pensions, benefits, paid leave. They've even defended the weekend. They've helped share prosperity amongst the many. Because unions have always understood something fundamental. It's not just what we build, it's how we build. And Canada has always been a nation of builders. From the Canadian Pacific Railway to the St. Lawrence Seaway to Confederation Bridge. And today, in the face of a global rupture, Canada is building big again. New ports, mines, energy and trade corridors. Millions more affordable homes, new roads, railways and airports. And we're building it all in solidarity with workers.

10:55That's why the government has launched the Team Canada Strong to recruit, train, and hire up to 100 ,000 skilled trades workers. And central to that plan is expanding union training programs right across the country. And that's why, in the face of unjustified, unprovoked tariffs from the United States, we're stepping up. with large, sustained financial support to protect our workers and our businesses and help them to retool, retrain, diversify and build. That's another thing unions have always understood. When we look out for each other, when we work together, when we're united, there's nothing the Canadian workers can't do.

11:40So happy Labour Day, Canada.

11:43Michael Popok:That's a president or a prime minister, by the way. in case you were wondering what one should look like. And yet Donald Trump puts people like this imbecile in charge of the Commerce Department, Howard Lutnick, who, by the way, came in second to be the head of the Treasury Department. The Commerce Department leads on trade negotiations, which I loved when he was taken down a notch or two in Congress during an oversight hearing about Canada. Play the clip. Canada's economy leans on the incredible$30 trillion economy of America. There's no doubt about that, Mr. Secretary. But insulting our closest ally and neighbor who provides a lot of business.

12:28We have a lot of businesses in New Hampshire, small businesses who work on both sides of the border. We have all those Canadian visitors who are not coming because of your comments and comments by the administration. How does that help our economy? It is outrageous that Canada will not put U.S. spirits on the shelf. It is insulting. It is. And disrespectful to America that they won't even put... And my husband has an interest in a company that has American spirits. And they won't do it because of the insults from this president and comments like yours. So I want to go on to another question. But can I have just one small comment, which is dairy is treated so badly and your state cares about dairy.

13:18And we are trying desperately to get them to live to the deal that they have on USMCA and stop treating our dairy farmers so poorly. And your state cares about that. And we are fighting for that. We do, but we are not going to get agreement when we keep insulting people. When we have allies and partners, we should try and work with them, not insult them. And I find your rhetoric insulting to the people in my state who are working so hard to try and ensure that they can do business.

13:52Michael Popok:Best way to support us is to hit the free subscribe button and help us to continue to grow our pro-democracy channel. Until my next report, which will be with the Democratic Attorneys General from Detroit, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well.

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